This invention concerns semiconductor laser mounted in a connector housing for illuminating the angled end of an optical fiber in a connector for minimized reflection interference. A connectorized photodiode is also used for receiving signals from an optical fiber.
This invention provides a low cost RF signal an electrical to optical connector housing for receiving a connector with an angled end of an optical fiber, such as a standard angled physical contact (APC) connector. An RF modulated distributed feedback semiconductor laser is mounted in the housing with a lens adjacent to the laser for directing light to an aperture plane in the housing. The laser and the lens are offset from the axis of the housing so that light from the laser passes through the aperture plane at an acute angle relative to the axis of the housing. Furthermore, the laser and lens are spaced so that the area of the aperture plane illuminated by the laser is larger than the end of an optical fiber. An APC connector can be mounted in the housing with the angled end of its optical fiber in the aperture plane for illumination by the laser.